My local councilor just laughed in my face

[sashh]

Just that.

He was canvassing the area, I had previously had email correspondence with him where I asked him 'What is a woman' and he gave me a reply about all discrimination is wrong.

So I tried to engage him on the doorstep, he laughed and told me to 'have a conversation with someone else'.

So I looked up the code of conduct for councilors, apparently they have a duty to represent the view of all in their ward. I don't think he can do that.

Then I found out that the council code of conduct doesn't include 'sex' in it's equality blurb.

Great to hear about how things are looking from a candidates point of view. I agree with you that ordinary people need to be more involved.

I asked the LibDem canvasser the same thing, he did not know what to say, I said in dresses were freaks and shut the door in his face. We need to stand up to these zealots.

Well, I am still waiting for a reply to the email I sent to our LibDem candidates last year, asking them how they would be protecting single sex spaces etc..... they have knocked elsewhere in my road so I wonder if they are avoiding me 😀

I have only had one candidate visit - the local Tory Councillor. (He is actually very good and has done a huge anoint for the local area). Had a long talk with him. I wish he was an independent candidate!

I doubt Labour will even bother with a flyer round here. Just not worth their effort.

Not had any other flyers at all.

Is it luxury politics to want your elderly mum to have same sex intimate care? I don't think it is. I certainly wouldn't vote for somebody who told me that the protection / provision of same sex facilities and carers was a 'luxury'. I'd think they didn't understand the issues and needed to go away and do a bit more research (Miriam Cates is awesome on this).

Oh, my local council (Labour) tabled and voted through a motion that TWAW the other year. It's certainly something on the Sefton radar at a local level.

If your local Tory is good vote for them. Indeed vote for any candidate who will handle their constituency correspondence effectively. (With the proviso that you want someone who has enough sense to know that vulnerable women need protested spaces.)

A Councillors job is largely unpolitical. The cliche is that it is about bins and potholes. I would argue that in many authorities the new issue communication, and the inability people without internet have to accessing services. Either way you want someone able to handle their in tray effectively and who is able to work constructively for the benefit of all residents.

Once elected, Councillors are in for four years, good or bad. Good Councillors can deliver real help to those that need it most. Good Councillors can provide effective leadership for the local Authority. Good Councillors, who engage with their residents, inform their local parties and possibly the national one. (My MP and PartyChair are now both clear on what a woman is, an issue they previously had probably not thought about.) It is why I picked a party, though Independents will win. In my ward one Independent is good, people tell me that he intervened to help them, but he also has his hobby horses. The other two, by reputation at least, don’t have the skills to be that effective.

I am not saying it well.

Non luxury politics is to work to provide SAFE and good local services. To listen to what people want. Including no men in womens spaces.

People who have less need for local services have the luxury of voting on niche issues, be it a candidate who believes TWAW or putting in new bike lanes. I will lose because the better off will vote for whoever supports their pet hobby horse (and on bikes, no one ever mentions buses yet for the people with least buses are more important. A decent, and joined up service, would also take more cars off the road.) I will pick up votes amongst the least well off because they seem less tribal about party politics and will vote for someone who is aware of them and their needs.

I find the people who proudly announce ABC, ie anyone but Conservative as if they have a gotcha, really tedious. Is there a “why”. Locally there are plenty of reasons not to vote Conservative. A flick through old Private Eyes will tell you that. But then during the last administration the “independents” in the neighbouring ward switched to Tory. I much prefer people who will put up reasons for their voting choice. Not least it allows me to ask how they can support Keir when he does not know what a woman is. 100% have agreed that he is dodgy on this.

If he is good then vote for him!

It's not a non issue. Several political parties are telling us that women are not a distinct sex class. I would call that a pretty big issue.

Exactly. I am picking up that gender stuff including social contagion is a real problem in local schools. Colleagues, who had not engaged brain on the issue, nevertheless complain that the one Councillor who is very TWAW wasted a lot of full Council time on the issue, when there were a number of pressing agenda items. So that one person was probably given their Trans Day of Remembrance and the pronouns/lanyards etc for Council workers to keep them quiet and allow others to move ahead with other business when there is no evidence that this was something anything other than a very small number of voters wanted.

So do vote for a good Labour/Independent/LibDem Candidate, but only if you are confident that they will work hard and focus on what local people need. If they can/will answer the question, good. If not, be wary. (My approach to a controversial local policy, at least when talking to people, is that I have reservations about the party line on this one issue. I will follow the party line, but that I am working internally to ensure that other views are heard and that possible compromises are considered. Admittedly it brought a complaint from a real hard liner, and a severe ticking off from the Agent, but heyho. An uncompromising line is losing us votes in our ward.)

Signed. That would be a great idea.

Too bloody right. "Luxury politics" my arse.

I met my MP for the first time a few weeks ago. Conservative - in post for at least 10 years. We have huge local issues including large unwanted housing developments, issues with rural salaries and jobs, public transport, housing costs etc. But I explained to him that I was a single issue voter - gender critical feminist concerned about single sex spaces for women and women's rights in general. We had a fantastic conversation for at least 10 minutes - he was very knowledgeable. I shall be voting Tory for the 1st time in many years. I am going to send him my copy of boiledbeetle's fantastic poem compilation and ask him to pass on when finished with.

This is so good to hear. At least one party is listening.

@weightymatters73

Thank you very helpful!

Covertimage. In my book pandering to a tiny percentage of the population who are Transactivists is a luxury. Why Labour think it will win votes from the just about managing is arrogant in the extreme.

Most people want good and safe services without dogmas like queer theory or critical race theory. And would see Labour's focus on quite niche and often unpopular policies as a luxury. However if transgenderism is key to your being, you may think otherwise. In which case there are plenty of parties to choose from.

I had the Lib Dem candidate round, her leaflet is basically ‘vote me to get the tories out’, with no actual promises of anything else. (Traditionally safe Tory seat)

Asked her if a woman can have a penis, she said, oh not all this, this is ridiculous, it’s not an issue. And then refused to answer.

I met with three female friends this morning. All of us middle aged to elderly, all of us GC, all of us intelligent academics. It was interesting to hear that three of us plan to spoil our ballot papers and one is abstaining. Not one of us feel that the options available represent our views.

DrMarcia our LibDem candidate truly believes in female penises as well as many other fanciful notions.

He was surprised we didn't want an orange sign in the front garden. We had one years ago, when men were men and women were women so we must be on a list somewhere.

Keir has 36000 voters, 460 of which have signed the Sex Matters petition. He has a majority of 27,763. Come on those 460 women of Holborn and St Pancras, if each of you can convince 60ish others he'll have a bloody great dent in his majority!

I forget who asked about asking the conservative, no I have not contacted them, if I do encounter them I will ask.

FourChimneys, I think it is worth looking at the individuals. Especially in a local election where a good ward Councillor, of whatever stripe, can make a real difference to the lives of people most reliant on Council services.

Both major parties need individuals who live outside their bubbles and understand the needs and views of the people they hope will vote for them. Voters, equally, want a genuine choice. Not a ‘none of the above’ and a search for the more palatable option.

To achieve this we need engagement. Stepping aside and spoiling your ballot won’t help solve the problem. Asking around, looking at track records, stepping outside strict party loyalties might. The person who will do a good job and who will listen to people, should be well equipped to influence thinking within their local party. And local parties will influence national policies. I have no doubt that Keir would know what a woman is, if local parties told him that they were adult human females.

Women appear to be both underrepresented and less influential in politics. Not surprising. Too many local parties of whatever stripe will have the feel of boys clubs, just different boys. Think about it. Talk to your friends. Join the party. Tick the box saying you are willing to stand. Be in the party WhatsApp group and report back on what you are hearing on the door step. Seek out sensible colleagues and support them.

My limited experience suggests that local parties are at risk of take over from people from the extremes, who put their agendas before the priorities of potential voters, as if people owe them their votes. The Greens are a good example of capture. How the hell was Aimee Challenor ever a candidate for vice Chair, and thing have not got better since as Shahrir Ali and others will confirm. Yet lots of undecided voters would consider a proper ecology party focussed on measures to protect the environment. Or the SNPs batty gender bill, so unpopular that Rishi loses no votes by calling it in.

We need an entryism of the moderates. So please, engage not disengage.

For what it’s worth, I have found the last month both extremely challenging and very rewarding. The actual leafleting and canvassing is physically (I’ve managed up to 30,000 steps in a day. Those streets are mine) and emotionally (I don’t mind talking to people but I hate knocking on strangers’ doors.) tough. But I have met some really good people, know the town a lot better and have some brilliant memories. Equally as a newcomer, in what is essentially a very political workplace, I found the local party politics confusing. I’ve worked it out now, and inevitably it was two good women who reached out to me when I was struggling. They are not the only ones. My canvassing companion is great and, luckily, very hard working and there are other good, empathetic and thoughtful people. And the MP is now openly GC. (Credit is probably due to Rishi rather than me, but I was able to get the party Chair to lobby him.) All in all, really worthwhile.